Project Red
by NooooDipThereSherlock
Summary: Soundwave is renown for two things: being the only one to ever come up against Megatron and almost win, and for being a dangerous mech loyal to the Decepticon Cause. That is until he is tasked with the upkeep and training of the Decepticon's newly acquired weapon (all thanks to him); a mouthy half-human who makes nothing but trouble.
1. Taken

**_I might as well introduce myself._**

 ** _The name is Red, like the colour._**

 ** _I'm seventeen going on eighteen here shortly._**

 ** _You might think 'oh gee this is another love story'. Sorry. You're right._**

 ** _It's not mine though- well, it ain't fully mine. It's also his._**

 ** _My story is helping a mech who thought he couldn't change his stripes to change._**

 ** _His story is helping me stay alive during captivity._**

 ** _Our story is somehow, someway learning that together we are something more._**

 ** _You could say, more than meets the eye._**

 ** _So, without further ado, this is how the story begins y'all._**

 _OoooooO_

The Nemesis hovered over the sea below, cloaked and primed for war. A thousand soldiers, ready for battle were stationed and the few figureheads who lead them were currently plotting their next move. It involved intelligence returned by a patrol of Vehicons six earth months previously; they had been attacked. By what, no one was sure. But it was powerful enough that, when pitted against the thing along with a couple of Autobots, the platoon fell. They were all damaged enough to have little to no data available on just what in the Pits of Unicron had attacked. One thing was for certain; the Autobots had a weapon, something that could cause the Decepticons trouble.

A mech was monitoring the planet below. A mech famed for being pitted against Megatron and _almost_ defeated him. His designation was whispered in fear even by his own kind. He had no face, no spark some even speculated, a cold and calculated machine that lived to serve.

 _Soundwave_.

He was respected even by Optimus Prime, rumoured to have even known him once personally. But the details were unknown. The mech was a mystery, a hazard who never spoke and only used others voices as his own. The Communications Officer and by default Third in Command was looking for any activity. So far, aside from a few blips impossible to pinpoint, he had frustratingly had no luck in discovering the whereabouts of this weapon. It was safeguarded. That much was for certain. He was determined to find it, and retrieve it at all costs-

There. Finally. Just what he had been waiting for.

Soundwave signalled to his leader, then pointed to the beeping screen, waiting for Megatron to look.

"Yes, what is it, Soundwave?" Megatron asked, raising an optic ridge as he glanced over at the monitor. "Autobot movement? So soon after our last spat-? Hm." His gaze narrowed at the third blip, marked 'unidentified'. It was, different. He knew enough in his millennias leading the Decepticons to differentiate between Autobot and something else entirely. "How interesting." Megatron drawled, deep voice edged with a dark intrigue. "Any word from Starscream?"

Soundwave shook his helm, silent as ever "I will send Knockout and a troop of Vehicons. We shall see just exactly what the Autobots have been hiding from us."

 **OooooO**

Wildstar loved racing.

She was a sports car, and once a racer on Cybertron so it all came naturally to her. How her comrade ever agreed to go out for one empty highway rush was still a shock, but Wildstar wasn't one to complain anyways. "Better hurry, or I might leave you behind!" She called out to the femme behind her. The purple and gold-detailed Porsche revved her engine and pushed her speedometer to 100 mph, dangerously shooting around a sharp turn. Behind her followed a blue motorcycle with a holographic human in the seat, dressed in biking leather and a helmet concealing the nonexistent features. It was a rare opportunity to get out and drive along without a care in the world. Save for her charge in the backseat.

The blue motorcycle, Arcee chuckled. "Don't let it go to your processor." Her engines revved and she zipped ahead of Wildstar. "I can still hold my own!"

"Hey Red."

"Yeah?"

"Wanna do something crazy?"

Her charge had a dangerous grin on her face. "Lemme get ready first." She strapped on her helmet and gave a thumbs up.

Wildstar in response turned abruptly and, seeing no one around, squealed happily, transforming and tackling her friend right off the road and into the desert dust. They went tumbling and her charge whooped and hollered as she rolled right along.

"Looks like we're tied!" Wildstar snorted, shaking herself off and Red dropped from her seatbelt and fell onto the ground, panting.

"Whatta rush!"

"Red?! What in the Pits are you doing out here-? Did you transform?!"

"Aw c'mon Arcee. Wildstar 'an I-!" The human tried to protest but already Arcee's gaze landed on the sheepish Wildstar.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to bring her out here?! And let her use her abilities no less!" The femme snapped. "What if the Cons are looking for her signal? What would we do!?"

"Arcee you're getting more wound up than a long-tailed cat in a room full 'a rocking chairs." Red said, blowing a lock of her fiery hair out of her eyes. "Look I only transformed my legs so I could get some blading in without using my actual, ya know, rollerblades. Besides if they send the calvary, I'd just knock them down again."

Arcee squinted her optics down at Red in a way that she knew meant she was in for trouble. "You were very, very lucky that time Red Botson. Are we clear on that? You caught the Vehicons off guard. But Megatron, if he catches a glimpse of you, you're not going to have that opportunity. He'll know you're half human and he'll take advantage of that. Do you understand?"

Red sighed and crossed her arms. "Yeah. I gotcha."

"And as for you." Arcee turned to her comrade. "Optimus put you in charge of Red because he trusted you. He trusts you to keep her safe and out of the Decepticons hands! Red is not like Jack, Raf or Miko. She's not collateral if they catch her. It will be worse. You need to do better to be certain that doesn't happen."

Wildstar frowned, but gave a single nod and looked down at her charge. "Change back."

With a sigh, Red cleared her throat. "Rollerblades: Off-"

She was almost cut off by the sound of… was that some kind of high sonic squeal?!

"Cons!" Arcee yelped, looking upwards to find an all-too familiar Mini-Con circling. Her spark sank. Soundwave had seen Red. "Call for back up now! Wildstar, get Red-!" That was as far as she got before Arcee spied the groundbridge.

Frag.

A scarlet Decepticon, armed with about ten Vehicons following in formation behind him emerged from the swirling green portal and smirked.

"Hello, ladies!" Knockout drawled, winking at Wild.

She activated her cannons, a snarl in her face. "Red? Sorry kiddo. Looks like you're playing with the big girls now. Think you can handle it?"

"Well I reckon I could but-!" That was as far as Red got before their enemy attacked. Arcee unsheathed her blades and Wildstar used her razor sharp claws to slice through the Vehicons. "WHOA!" The girl yelped, avoiding a falling Vehicon. She ducked behind some rocks, and quickly tried to think of some way to get the drop on them like before.

Wildstar meanwhile had pinned Knockout as Soundwave surveyed the battle zone through Lazerbeak, looking for any sign of the weapon.

"So you do like me, huh?" Knockout purred in her audio receptor, denta close to her cheek.

"I do not like you! Although your finish is nice." She said, deciding to woo him into making foolish choices.

"You mean it?" He asked brightly, going into a whole conversation about it.

"Of course! But it would be a shame to have it ruined in a fight! Especially if I have something to do with it." She raised her servo threateningly and the mech looked panicked, then smirked. "Would this be a- a bad time ask if there's a weapon you've acquired recently?"

She snarled and sliced. A roar of pain echoed across the battlefield and Wildstar let go of the wounded medic, letting him stagger up. He was easy to force into a retreat. "Okay, that does it. We're outnumbered!" He yelled.

And with that he and the remaining for Vehicons bid a hasty retreat down the dusty highway in their alt modes. Lazerbeak followed in pursuit.

"Is everyone okay?" Arcee called out,looking around.

Wildstar nodded. "I'm intact."

"Where's Red-?"

"HOOOYAAAAAAH!" The girl catapulted over the rocks, but froze. "Aw, man. I missed the showdown!"

Arcee groaned. "We are leaving now. Turn back, do not go into any alt modes unless at base. You were lucky one more time Red."

The teen just blinked, her green eyes speckled with red flickering. "Geez!" She exclaimed. "I guess Lady Luck must think I'm a special gal if I survived a close encounter with the otherworldly kind yet again." Arcee's look made her lift her arms in surrender. "Sorry. 'Aight." She muttered, drawl making her words barely audible. Wildstar transformed and Red climbed in. "Did I really cause that much trouble?"

Wildstar started her engine and they pulled away. "Don't fuss. You're not as bad as Miko. Besides I only got to fight prissy Knockout. He's too vain to fight, and the Vehicons are easy pickings. Don't worry Red. Nothing bad will happen."

 **OooooO**

Megatron was furious. His medic had failed and retreated to treat a mere mesh-wound, and they were not any closer with finding the weapon than before! But for now, something else occupied him. He was more interested with when Starscream would return. The mech had gone out in a huff a good day ago and still had not returned.

"That imbecile most likely got captured or killed, which means I must waste valuable time looking for him." he snarled, claws digging into his metal desk. "Seekers do have a knack for returning to their masters, though." he muttered to himself.

 **OooooO**

Soundwave meanwhile kept his optics locked on the screen. That vain imbecile failed due to a cosmetic flaw. He lost the weapon before they could get any visual. But at least now he knew which Autobots carried it. The energy signature had been attached to the femme known as Wildstar. It was a separate entity but still, now to play the waiting game for when she would utilize it again...

A week had passed since the incident. Red was in her whirlwind aftermath she called a room, sprawled out on her mattress with Theodore, her pet rat. "It gets annoying Theo, I'll share that." The girl sighed, petting the albino animal. "I mean I got power. I have some kind of skill, I guess. So why can't I fight like the others? Please. I coulda knocked those Cons three ways from Sunday but guess who gets benched? Phooey. 'Least the heat has died down enough." She placed Theodore back into his cage and smiled. "Be good 'till I get back."

The girl grabbed and threw on her red tank top and black leggings, opting to tie her blue gingham shirt around her waist. Red teetered her way out, shutting the door behind her and grabbed her hair ties from the coat wrap, deciding to pull her hair into a couple of ponytails for blading. Once done, strapping on her rollerblades (reluctantly so) and sliding on her backpack, she bladed towards KO burgers to meet Wildstar. The tomboyish redhead was in derbies. Jasper sure as heck didn't have much but she'd earned her reputation in the last year as being a capable derbiest and athletic. Blading was comfortable for her, letting her move at a good speed and giving her a sense of freedom.

Pretty soon she was in front of the fast food joint and skidded to a halt. Jack was in the takeout window. She got a sneaky idea and grinned, blading over to it and hid beneath it, waiting for him to come over. And when he did...

She took a deep breath in and then popped her head up, yelling, "HEEEEEY JAAAACK!"

Jack yelped and managed to drop all the drinks he was about to serve to some customers. He sighed and began to clean the mess up. "Sorry, I'll get fresh ones! Uhm, hi Red. How did you know I would be on this shift?" He asked, annoyed but not for long. He liked her too much for getting angry with her.

Red grinned with a scoff. "Call it Botson's intuition!" She chirped, her ponytails swishing. She leaned one arm on the counter, eyebrow raised. "I have been known to be psychic after all. Well what with the rest 'a the package I got."

Jack rolled his eyes but roughed up her hair the way he always did for fun.

Red smoothed out her hair. "Oh ya bet. And ready 't pay with a free strawberry milkshake, because y'all are goin' down, son!" She then spotted and waved at a fry-cook with darker red hair and blue eyes, well toned and quite handsome. With a spatula he waved back, turning so he was visible.

"Don't get too cocky sis!" He said with a chuckle. It was her older brother, Mitch Botson. The siblings were close, closer than anybody Jack had seen before. Well almost. Mitch didn't know what Red was up to. So you're actually trying the thing out with Wildstar?"

"That's the plan. Look you're not telling right? I wanna see if I can actually do more."

"Uh, no. Look I don't think it's a smart idea really."

"I don't think so either but I got that itch again Jack. I need to exert some energy and the Base isn't cutting it. It's only gonna be a few minutes and I'll be fine."

"Hey Jack! Mind throwing me some soda?" Wildstar asked from the drive through window, rolling up to a stop and stopping their conversation. She was one of the rare Cybertronians that could drink things other than energon and had become quite taken with carbonated drinks.

"It isn't good for you!"

"Jack, just do it. I won't tell Optimus, I promise!" Wildstar laughed softly. Jack sighed, poured a soda and gave it to Red to give to her.

"Hey Star. You taking Red to base?"

"Yeah, just going for a drive first Mitch!" Red chirped and turned around.

"Well anyways, take good care 'a my sister today, ok?" Mitch called as he poked his head out of the window. He too ruffled his sister's hair, making her giggle and smooth it out again.

"C'mon you guys! Can't ya just leave my hair be? It took forever to brush out this morning!"

Wildstar revved her engine and laughed. "I always take care of my friends!" she assured, wishing she could mean what she said. But she was just one femme in a war where only the strongest survived. She was hoping that although it was risky, if Red could pull it off then she could face at least a lot more obstacles.

"I'll be home by supper Mitch!" Red called out, dashing over. "C'mon Star! The road awaits!" She climbed into Wildstar, smiling brightly and buckled up. They pulled out of the drive through and turned the corner, disappearing from sight.

Mitch sighed and turned back to the frier. "Golly… it don't seem like a few months ago that we were new here and she wasn't happy. The 'Bots have done something special for her, that's for certain. Changed her life!"

Jack grinned. "They tend to do that."

 **OoooooO**

"You ready?" Wildstar asked. She was pushing over 80 an hour, down the straight road with no signs of vehicles. It couldn't have been more perfect. Red had taken off her rollerblades, feet bare and was now angled so she was facing the passenger side door.

"Ready." She tightened her helmet. One wrong move and she'd be hurt, badly. Miko was an adrenaline junky. Red wasn't as bad as she was, but she was reckless. She knew how badly this could turn out but she needed to know if for her this was possible.

The door swung open, jarring against the wind that whipped into the cab and Red sucked a deep breath. "Rollerblades: On!" She pushed herself out as they activated as she hit the asphalt sliding and grabbed at her door. With a gasp she steadied herself within a moment. "Booster: On!" She let go as the door slammed shut and Red bladed ahead down the highway at ninety miles an hour.

She was breaking the speed limit she once said was impossible. The fastest she could go previously was up to 60. This was an astronomical improvement. Red's speed would make it hard for her to be a target. Add that in with her energy shots, and she'd be able to fend for herself once she had training. The Autobots pulled up and opened her door, decreasing speed along with her charge as the booster faded and a tuckered Red swung herself back in, fist pumping.

"Woo! Okay. Off to base!"

 **OooooO**

The blip echoed through the room. Seven earth cycles and finally. Soundwave locked onto the weapon. He turned to signal to the warlord, but Megatron already knew.

"Soundwave, capture it. I have other matters to attend to." He sighed, optics focused on the diagnostics screen. Soundwave only chuffed and turned, striding out. Megatron was still hoping Starscream would return, the old fool.

Soon after Soundwave exited, Megatron heard a familiar sound, the sound of a certain mech's pedes. Said mech was limping, but he was walking. Turning with a worried ferocity, Megatron's gaze landed on the battered form of Starscream.

"Where. Have. You. BEEN?!" Megatron roared, his Seeker lowering is wings with submission.

"Master, please. I'm barely standing! I need assistance!" he mewled, such a fragile thing in the end. "I nearly died out there and you didn't come and find me you brute!"

Megatron glanced around the control room, seeing no one else, and nearly crushed the Seeker's shoulder pauldron as he ferociously kissed him. "When you are well," he spoke after pulling away, "I am going to punish to for abandoning myself and my cause. But for now you need rest." he murmured before pulling away.

 **OoooooO**

Wildstar sped off down the empty Nevada road, humming a little to the rock song Red tuned into from the radio. The girl had guzzled down the Gatorade from before, sighing in relief. She was still barefoot, backpack in her lap now as she tucked the empty bottle into it to recycle later. However, as they traveled along, Wildstar began to pick up a weird frequency. "Red. Do you hear that?"

"'An he's watching us all with the eye-... I don't hear anything." She noted, taking a look around the cab with a shrug. "Probably nothing." She sighed and glanced outside, then suddenly gasped, seeing the reflection in the rear-view mirror. "Uh oh." She knew she was in trouble. Big trouble.

"WILDSTAR DRIVE!" Red shrieked, seeing a very large plane making a beeline for them!

"Frag it all! Soundwave!" Wildstar yelped as she avoided a blast from his gun. Oh SCRAP were they in trouble! "Red, you need to get out of here, they must have located you, fraggit!" She yelped. This was all her fault. She should have never wanted to try that! She gunned the engine, pushing herself right to the edge of her power.

"Hold on, I'm going to dump you out on the side of the road and tackle him. Get ready to roll!" Wildstar called out and Red had no time to activate her alt mode. She was indeed literally thrown as Soundwave made a nosedive and collided with her!

Red went flying out and rolled into a ditch, dazed. "Next time gimme a second to make sure I don't die!" She called out, struggling to her feet.

Snarling like a feral beast, Wildstar had transformed and was grappling with Soundwave before shoving him off. "Red, call the others for a ground bridge! Quickly!" She then turned her attention to an advancing Soundwave and shifted her claws to guns, and open fired.

Soundwave made a nasty hissing sound as he leaped out of the way, lithe and quick. He quickly struck and knocked her out of the way. Where. Was. The weapon?! His attention focused towards Wildstar. The signal was coming from a detached source, so where was it?!

Red quickly rushed to her backpack, digging into it and pulled out her comlink. Shoot. It was damaged! She clasped it in her hands, hoping that she could fix it if she could make it to base…!

Wildstar, having changed her guns for claws again struck viciously at Soundwave's face mask, her sharp claws nearly slicing through his chest armor as he gracefully dodged. She let loose a pained shriek when Soundwave grabbed her by her neck cables and punched her in the gut. She cried out, smelling the scent of spilled energon which was most likely hers. Wildstar looked down to see Soundwave gazing up at her. Her own optics met her gaze.

"Where- is- the weapon?" He used clips of different voices he had borrowed and stolen to accentuate his demand.

"Weapon, huh. Well I won't ever tell you." Wildstar smirked.

"HEY! SLENDY!" The voice made him turn his helm and Wildstar's optics widened. Red hadn't run! "YA GOT TWO SECONDS TO GET OUTTA DODGE BEFORE THERE'S TROUBLE!" Her Southern drawl echoed and Soundwave kept his rapt attention fixated on her.

What was that human speaking of?

"All righty. Either he's deaf or plain stupid." Red muttered and then her gaze narrowed. "WARNED YA SO GET READY!"

"RED NO!" Wildstar yelled.

"HANDS: ON!"

Her skin split apart. That's what it looked like to Soundwave and all watching at first as pieces of her arms, up to her elbows segmented and slid back. Underneath we're normal human veins, remnants of muscle fibres and… mesh. Metal. Wires. Tubing. Cybertronian biology.

She was the weapon.

Soundwave forgot his initial focus on Wildstar and dropped the wounded femme, and began to stalk towards her.

"Red! Run!" Wildstar, trying to stand but feeling so weak. And she had promised she would protect her charge...!

Soundwave's datacables emerged, faceless mask locked on her as he attempted to grab her with them! Red yelped, dodging his attempt, then quickly shot between his legs, facing the open desert.

"ROLLERBLADES: ON!" Her feet, much like her arms shifted into rollerblades yet more mechanical in nature. "BOOSTER: ON!" She didn't look back as she bladed quickly off into the desert, with Soundwave hot on her tail.

"Give him a run for his money, Red." Wildstar purred, comming Ratchet and the others. _-We need backup and I'm down for the count. Soundwave is after Red...-_ With that said, Wildstar passed out from energon loss and went into stasis while she self-repaired as best she could.

 **OoooooO**

Soundwave deployed Laserbeak, the drone shooting ahead to cut her off. The weapon, this little human-like Cybertronian would be his without much work, he was sure. With two against one, even the best fighter could fall.  
He transformed and set off ahead, calculating exactly where he could best capture her.

Up ahead, Red zipped along, chest heaving and legs burning. She wasn't used to using her boosters for more than a minute, and it was causing her to slow. That wasn't good. Then up ahead, she saw a gap in the rocks and tried to veer off course. Her booster failed at that moment and her legs shifted back into her usual blades. She couldn't stop! Oh no. Oh no, no, _no-!_

With a scream she rocketed halfway over, then fell into the gap! She only managed to grab a root to stop her fall, slamming into the rock hard sand and cried out in pain. Her left arm had been crushed in between her body and the wall, and automatically turned back with a pop and fizz. Oh. This wasn't good. Her other arm still worked and she hung there for a moment, trying to see if this crevasse was shallow enough for her to drop down. Nope.

With a grunt, she tried to hoist herself back up, thankfully she hadn't dropped down too far. "Rollerblades: Off!" Red commanded and once they shifted back, she slid her feet against the wall until she could get a good foothold. Finally letting go of the root she started to pull herself up, her right arm throbbing as her self-repair worked hard to fix the damage. She gritted her teeth from the pain, relieved that her backpack wasn't weighing her down like she initially thought and managed to scale the few feet back up and out. Red groaned, flopping down on the sandy, rocky desert ground for a long moment as she caught her breath. Okay. Now that that was done with-

Wait. What was that sound? Red pushed herself up on her knees and against the burning sunlight saw a small bird-like drone coming towards her. It was the same one from a week ago… it was with the Decepticons! Frightened, she staggered to her feet as it closed in. "Hands: Off! Rollerblades: On!" They shifted at her command but it hurt this time, like muscle cramps. She turned and tried to blade away, pushing herself to keep going. She'd been always lucky. She could evade danger one more time.

Her spark sunk when her legs turned back automatically and she went tumbling again, out in the middle of nowhere with no place to hide. Red was terrified as she sat up, seeing a black dot behind the drone getting bigger by the second. If it was any sort of Vehicon, she prayed it would be dumb enough for her to dodge until help arrived. No such luck. It transformed as it closed in, turning from what looked like some military spy drone jet into a very massive, slim mech. She didn't recognize it at all.

"Whoa Nellie…" She muttered, staring at the Decepticon who had hurt Wildstar. She had to defend herself. Red had to! She staggered fully upright and her eyes narrowed. "S-stay away from me!" She yelled, raising her still functioning hand. "HANDS: ON!" She activated it and the cannon in her hand hummed weakly to life. Red repeatedly fired at Soundwave, trying to buy herself some time. But she was weak. She had exerted too much energy earlier using her boosters. And he knew.

Soundwave made a chuffing noise and shrugged off the shots like they were raindrops. He had figured that something as small as her, while powerful, was still able to lose energy at a rapid pace. She was a juvenile with what he guessed to be little training in how to properly handle her mods. As quick as a flash, he grabbed her in one servo. Soundwave had Red by her wrists in the air, watching her intently as she struggled. To think, she had evaded him for so long. But not any longer.

"L-LET ME GO OR YER GONNA BE SORRY!" She yelled at him, twisting around in his grip. "I MEAN IT!"

He let out another rumble, holding her close so he could get a good look at her. Humans could be disgusting, but their initial appearance was he supposed, intriguing. He noted the strange little dots on her faceplate, her unusually short stature in comparison to the other younglings, and the way her vocalizer pronounced and enunciated differently. This one indeed was unlike the other humans he'd seen. An interesting little creature she was. And she was going to be useful. Soundwave then began to walk away, Lazerbeak transforming and reconnecting to his frame, then commed his commander to report his success.

 _-Soundwave! What news do you have about the little addition to the ranks?-_ Megatron asked over their com link, at the moment sitting quietly with an exhausted, beaten Seeker beside him.

 _-Capture- was- completed.-_

 _-Good work! Bring her back to the Nemesis before the others take her back-_ Megatron ordered, subconsciously petting Starscream's wing like an animal.

"What are you planning, Master?" Starscream asked, voice tired and weak. He flinched when Megatron turned to look at him.

"We will have a new addition to our cause, my pet." Megatron answered, surprisingly gentle now his violence was sated with the half starved creature he called a Second in Command. "But now you need to rest. They will arrive soon enough."

 **OoooooO**

A swirling blue-green circle appeared a few feet near the canyon ridge. A red and blue long-nosed truck cab, a blue motorcycle, and a large, green SUV came rolling out, transforming into Arcee, Bulkhead, and even Optimus Prime. Ratchet had managed to track her signal outside of their base, about fifteen kilometres away. They heard Red's cries and quickly rush over to a ridge and peered down to see Red in Soundwave's grasp as he marched over to a groundbridge himself!

Arcee gasped. "RED!" She cried out then leaped down

"Arcee!" Bulkhead shouted worriedly.

The enraged femme landed between the bridge and Soundwave. "Let. Her. Go." She ordered sternly, cannons ready to fire.

Red squirmed in his grasp, trying to wrench her arm free. "Ar-Arcee! Get outta here! He'll kill ya!"

Arcee growled. "I am not going to let any Deception have you. Ever! " She raised her cannons and fired at Soundwave, making repeated blasts and knocking him back a little.

But when he raised Red threateningly, she hesitated and he saw his opportunity. Holding her up so the others could see, he aimed his blaster at her as he approached the bridge! Red struggled and yelled wordlessly in fear and anger as he approached. "LET GO! BULKHEAD, OPTIMUS HELP!"

Optimus started to descend but the blaster warming up against her helm made him stop, and tears began to fill her eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. Arcee had warned her, oh why didn't she listen?!

The femme in questioned attempted, one last time to save the girl and when Soundwave was focused on Optimus lunged! Soundwave however merely swatted Arcee away with one long arm before throwing Red through the end of the groundbridge! Then, with a simple glance back at the femme and her comrades, stepped through and the groundbridge closed behind him!

"RED!" Arcee cried out in horror, struggling to her knees.

Soundwave and Red were both gone. "No." She whispered. Optimus and Bulkhead slid down into the ravine fully and Arcee snarled. "I couldn't. I just couldn't!" She slammed her fist onto the ground, upset that she hadn't been able to save Red.

"It- it'll be okay Arcee. Soundwave's a tough guy to beat!" Bulkhead told her gently, trying to console her as Optimus radioed in the news.

"That's no excuse." Arcee hissed to the mech. "We've lost too many partners and friends to the Decepticons. And Primus knows what they'll do to her if we don't save her."


	2. Nemesis

Wildstar regained consciousness inside of the Autobot Base as Ratchet began to repair her stab wound. "Ratchet…?"

"Easy now. You suffered a harsh blow."

"What-? Wait. Red. Where's Red?! Did she make it here?!"

He shook his helm. "Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead are intercepting Soundwave as we speak. Bumblebee and Smokescreen are monitoring and will open the bridge when they retrieve her."

"Let me up doc! I need to go and help! Red's my charge, Soundwave-!"

Ratchet immediately physically halted her. "Stay still! They are retrieving her at this precise moment, Wildstar. I know they will be able to rescue her."

"He called her a weapon…" Wildstar trailed off and looked away. "I'll make sure I kill him next time we meet." she hissed to no one in particular, claws flexing.

The computer blipped an incoming transmission and Ratchet looked up as Smokescreen answered. "Optimus! Did you get Red?" He asked immediately, and Wildstar looked hopeful. But there was too long of a pause before he answered.

 _-Soundwave held her hostage. We were unable to retrieve her in time before they were both on the Nemesis.-_

Wildstar felt her spark break. Soundwave had managed to steal her friend. "Let me up." She looked at Ratchet with rage in her optics. "I need to go after her! She's just a little girl, she won't survive on the Nemesis!"

"There is nothing you can do!" Ratchet snapped and it only made Wildstar angrier as Bumblebee opened the bridge.

"There has to be something! Red is my fragging charge Ratchet! Optimus trusted me to keep her safe and I failed her! It's all my fault. If I hadn't agreed to let her try to beat her speed record she would still be here."

Ratchet didn't say anything as the others walked through, all silent and solemn. He too looked lost as he walked away, towards them and Smokescreen approached his sparkmate. "Wild, hey. It's not your fault."

"It is Smokescreen! Frag! They're going to force her to comply with whatever they want. She's helpless! I can't protect her."

He frowned and hugged her. "No, you and I both know Red isn't helpless. She's stubborn and she won't let them end her. We'll figure something out and bring her home, I promise."

"... Mhm… Smokey?"

"Yeah?"

"W-what are we going to tell her brother and the kids?"

Smokescreen didn't say anything. He just hugged his mate tighter.

 **OoooooO**

Red screamed as she went flying through the spacebridge, once again crashing into the ground and rolled to a stop, this time right in front of a pair of silver peds.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Starscream squealed in fear, claws gouging into Megatron's plating as he jolted up at the small human girl. Soundwave entered a moment later and the groundbridge closed behind him.

"That, is our new asset." Megatron rumbled, pushing Starscream aside. "A human, Soundwave? This is the weapon?" The silent mech nodded and on his screen showed images of her transforming. "A techno-organic with human flesh." The commander mused as the girl staggered up, groaning.

"Can't anyone just, I dunno, not throw me?" She muttered and slowly looked up to see two pairs of red optics, one vermillion and the other- whoa. Major case of goldfish lazy eyes. Her spark sank when she realized that aside from some giant light fixtures it was dark and she was in some kind of room that hummed. It sank even more when she realized exactly who lazy eyes was. Megatron. She was staring at Megatron. Boy if that chase hadn't sucked up every single drop of the energy drink she ingested…

She stumbled backwards as he rose, and reached down. "Roll-!" She tried to summon her mods before she was grabbed by a ponytail and halted painfully. The back of her tank top (and also painfully a bit of her flesh) was then grabbed and Red was lifted up until she was dangling in front of the scarred faceplate of the most feared Decepticon in history.

"And what might you be called, techno-organic?" he asked her, sharp denta inches from her face. Now she understood why Jaws was so scary. Yikes.

Red gulped, trying to not start hysterically sobbing and throw up. So she masked her fear, swallowed the nerves she had and tried to put on a tough cascade. "You- you better let me go, if y'all know what's good for ya!" She snapped at him. "I'm warning you now, goldfish eyes! As soon as my cannons cool I'm gonna give you a reason to wear an eyepatch! You and that creep that snatched me and the _chick_ over there!" She pointed at Starscream.

Starscream looked both scared, appalled, and insulted. Soundwave had nothing to say, of course, and Megatron looked like he'd been bitten by her for a moment and then laughed, a dangerous sound. "Isn't it a feisty little thing! Soundwave, take it to a cell before my poor Seeker has a spark attack." he drawled, noticing how Starscream was tense. Such a typical weakling. "Keep an optic on her until a stasis collar can be built to its size since it insists on threatening us. And tomorrow, since it was you who captured our asset, you will have the honour of marking it with our sigil." He kept his optics fixated on the half-human as he spoke.

Soundwave approached, then silently took Red from the other Decepticon and stalked off towards her holding pen, briefly glancing over his shoulder at Megatron and Starscream with some jealous annoyance. Of course he would be preoccupied now that his plaything was back. Ridiculous. He had no mate and yet those two, the most toxic beings ever to exist were fragging each other if not plotting against or beating up the other. It made him somewhat glad he did not have to deal with such an annoyance.

"I ain't afraid of any of ya Cons, you hear me?!"

Right. He had to get saddled with the mouthy one.

"No siree! Just y'all wait! The bots'll come for me, y'all see! And when they get here you're gonna-... hey, wait a minute. ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" She yelled, thrashing in his grasp. "YOU! CREEPY! HELLO! YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!"

Soundwave chuffed and then shook her a little, wanting her to be quiet. She squeaked and looked nauseous, and proceeded to upheave her stomach's contents on his servo. He almost dropped her. Disgusting! Glaring under his mask, the mech brought her into his quarters, where she was soon dropped into an energon container. It was small since it was only built for liquid, but for her it was huge. He glanced down at her to see if she was causing any trouble and decided she wouldn't. He would make sure. But first he had to make the proper preparations.

Red, recovering from her nausea about twenty minutes later, sat up slowly and looked around at the room outside. It was dark save for a single light fixture, with a slab, a large screen with- sweet mercy it was earth! She stared at the dot that probably represented where they were, and saw the location. Right smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Oh so much for escaping!

She began to rush around her confinement, looking for a way out. If it was anything like the monitor back at base, maybe she could radio in for help! Red stopped suddenly as she heard a beep and stayed still when Soundwave reentered the room, approaching her. She stared up at her own reflection, daring not to move.

"Inquiry: Designation?" he asked, pointing at her.

She looked confused and then glared at him. Oh heck. She was being interrogated. "I ain't talking!" She snapped at him, trying to mask the panic in her eyes.

Soundwave merely sat down, watching the little half-human from behind his visor. "Inquiry: Designation?" he asked yet again, wanting to know what they would need to call her for her to respond to commands. Designations could be a powerful thing when it came to humans.

She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring up at Soundwave, her green eyes locked onto the reflected image that warped like a funhouse mirror. "Inquiry: Designation?" He asked again, and Red suddenly realized something crucial. He wasn't using voice clippings like before. Was this what he actually sounded like?

"Inquiry: Designation." He grabbed the cube and threateningly gave it a small shake, causing her to slip and crash into a wall. "Lack of Response: Punishment."

Red yelped and held out her hands. "Wait! Wait! I-... just, call me Red. That's my designation. That's what I'm called, on earth."

Soundwave stored that valuable information away in his processor before he asked another question. "Inquiry: Location of residence?"

Red then glared. "Don't you try. I ain't telling you that even if you shake this here cube. That's confidential and on a need-not know basis ya get me?" She gazed bravely into his screen. "There ain't no one else like me out there s-so why, why even bother knowing that stuff? I also don't know where the Autobots hold their base, what they have in there aside from a pinball machine and an old video game, their plans and what they've got y'all don't!" Soundwave just stared at her. "You can probe me or make me barf again and rattle me 'till my brain bleeds but I seriously don't know anything. Never bothered, never got close."

The mech was, well, a little surprised by the femme's sheer audacity and boldness to tell him off when it was clear he had the upper servo, and she was afraid. But he could also tell she was being honest. And besides he didn't care about that currently. His master had tasked him with caring for her until the proper arrangements were in place and another was selected to train her. Deciding to try something less personal, the mech took a vial, poured a small amount of energon in it, and held it above the cube

"Inquiry: Energon required for fuel?" he asked.

She looked at it as he let a drop fall into her makeshift cell. "Uh, okay..." Just what was he playing at, she wondered. "I'm still human. I need food and water 'n stuff like that. I can't eat energon. So I guess I'm gonna starve to death!" She crossed her arms. "Probably in the next twenty four hours. Oh yeah. Humans also make waste so unless ya want to deal with something way more disgusting than vomit, ya better be ready to let me use the facilities."

Soundwave almost whined aloud at her ornery nature. He had never guessed that a techno-organic would need so much care and attention! Not to mention had special human requirements as well. Rubbing his helm with his free servo, the mech set the vial aside. "Inquiry: What fuel is required for techno-organic? And what 'facilities'?" he asked, knowing he had to keep her alive lest he lose his head to an enraged Megatron. He may have been important but Dark Energon had made his master more, unnerving.

"Okay, since ya wanna know, it's this stuff called water. Not the salty stuff 'cause that'll make me sick. Fresh water, but not from rivers or lakes 'cause that'll make me sick. Comes in bottles, and jugs. There's also food but it can spoil fast, some needs to be cooked before it's edible. Some kinds humans are allergic to. Oh yeah. And for facilities, hope yer ready to let me use human gas stations." She drawled.

Soundwave quickly stood, deciding he needed to fetch the techno-organic some organic food and was gone without another word, making his way out of the Nemesis and targeting the nearest human food storage-unit called a 'grocery store'. He would deal with the other thing later.

Red watched Soundwave leave and sighed. "Terrific! Now what?" She pondered for a minute, pacing back and forth across her cell, them heard something rattle. She looked up in time to see the vial roll off, crash onto the ground and made an audible shattering sound. An idea instantly hatched, and a happy smirk spread across her face. Making sure the coast was clear, she backed up.

"Rollerblades: On!" She whispered to herself, and felt her feet whirr and shift. "Boosters: On!" They hummed as they charged up, and she readied herself. With a sudden rush, she crashed into the thick wall of glass, causing it to lurch dramatically forward! She fell, caught her breath, and staggered up. She couldn't get a head injury, go for her shoulder for that 'oomph' Red needed. One more.

Her boosters activated again and she surged, crashing into the wall. It jolted, teetering precariously on the edge of the desk and she pushed on the wall as hard as she could…! It toppled, and crashed open as it hit the ground. She landed, skidding to a halt and got up, dusting herself off. Okay. One more obstacle. "Rollerblades: Off, Hands: On!" She alternated the mods, and with her cannons at a full enough charge, she aimed and fired at the wall panel. It took a few tries, but she managed to get it and with a fizzle and beep, the door slid open!

"Yes!" Red cried in triumph, quickly dashing outside and down the corridor. She ducked and watched as two Vehicons passed by, preoccupied with whatever they were talking about, then shot out of her hiding place and continued on her daring escape.

 **OooooooO**

Meanwhile, back at the Autobot base, a new beacon popped up on the monitor. Wildstar peered over Ratchet's shoulder to look. "Let's go see if it's Cons! If we can get through their groundbridge-!" She was already heading for their own.

Ratchet grabbed her by the shoulder pauldron. "Wait now!" he looked at her directly. "We don't know if its Decepticon or Autobot activity. Besides if Megatron is the tactician we know him to be, he won't risk such a thing immediately." Ratchet's optics widened soon after as the signal became clearer. "Wheeljack!" He exclaimed, as the signature popped up. "It's Wheeljack!"

Every bot looked momentarily excited. "I haven't seen Jackie forever!" Bulkhead said happily. "Not since... Since-!"

"The stellar cycle before we met Red?" Arcee sighed, instantly bringing back the troubled mood. Red was on everyone's processors. And how were they going to be able to tell Jack, Miko, Raf and especially Mitch that she was gone?

Smokescreen saw and felt just how depressed and stressed Wildstar was. Poor femme… These past four hours waiting for basically a miracle wasn't doing anyone any good, much less Wildstar herself. So, then he had an idea.

"Wildstar and I can go and bring him to base, maybe scout along the way." Smokescreen said suddenly, smiling at his mate.

Scouting. That one word echoed in Arcee's audio receivers. It was the same thing she had been doing when she had stumbled across Red for the first time, well, more like met, fighting off two vehicons attacking her and her brother...

 **-Flashback-**

 _Arcee was doing patrol with Wildstar. There had been a powerful energy surge in Jasper that had caused a blackout not too long ago, maybe two weeks, tops. Humans blamed a rogue lightning strike but those of the other world knew the truth. That was too powerful of a signature to be anything but a Cybertronian weapon activating. But that was the thing… before it could be traced it had died. It only popped up three times since, in random locations but it had been the third and first that were in the same general area. So now, Decepticons were frequently patrolling the streets in hopes to find the mysterious source, and there were more frequent sightings of Vehicons in Jasper. The pair were driving through the Main Street, patrolling for any sign of either weapon or foe._

 _-Arcee to base! No readings present, and no Decepticon patrols either. That recent spike looks to be another dead end. We'll be returning ASAP.-_ _Once she hung up, Arcee playfully spoke to her comrade. "Excited that we're wrapping up so soon I take it?"_

 _Wildstar laughed. "Okay, okay! You caught me. I am. " Just then, two purple sports cars drove into view. "Decepticons!" She cried, screeching to a halt._

 _Both ducked into an alley. They didn't seem to notice the two Autobots and continued to drive. "Looks like that spike wasn't a dead end after all." Arcee murmured, watching the Decepticons drive by._

 _"Wanna try and tail them?" Wildstar asked._

 _"Carefully. We do not engage unless spotted or they find the source of the signature." Arcee commanded, and once far enough they pulled out and drove as far behind as they could without being seen and without losing them._

 _Suddenly, two streets from where the outskirts started, in the trailer park, a dark green and rusty pickup truck came shooting out of nowhere! "WATCH OUT!" Came a male voice, faint but obvious. The driver t-boned the vehicon to the left and they skidded before finally halting. A young man in his early twenties leapt out of the truck and rushed over to the badly dented vehicon. "Goodnight Sweet Grace! Are you alright?! Shoot this is all my fault!"_

 _He had a western accent, red hair and was well-built in human standards. A scrawny girl a bit younger than him also scrambled out of the truck, her fiery-red hair tied into two long ponytails. "Mitch! For the love of god, honk or something the next time Jess is 'bout to quit! You coulda killed someone!" She scolded him, hands on her hips._

 _"Well I didn't know the engine was gonna, so cut me some slack okay?!"_

 _Before anyone could say anything else, the dented vehicon transformed and the other one followed suit! The man, Mitch, and the red-headed girl stumbled backwards, terrified. "Mitch!" The girl yelped and the human stood in front of her, trying to block the Vehicon from her._

 _Arcee and Wildstar quickly sprang into action. They gunned their engines and came shooting towards them before transforming into their base modes. They had no choice, human lives were at stake from a couple of pissed off drones! Both took on the Vehicons, landing numerous kicks, punches, and blasts at them, while the girl watched wide-eyed as they battled. Mitch had gotten to the door of the truck, whirled around and saw his sister gaping upwards._

 _"Red c'mon! We gotta get outta-!"_

 _Then, one of the 'Cons quickly grabbed Mitch and held him up as a shield! Arcee couldn't do anything to help, and froze up. "MITCH! NO!" The girl shrieked and barely dodged being grabbed. And that's when Arcee heard it for the first time; "HANDS: ON!"_ _There was the sound of metal shifting, sudden rapid fire of a cannon and the Vehicon lurched backwards!_

 _Arcee turned her head and her blue optics widened when she saw the young girl's hands had turned into a Cybertronian cannon! How in the-?! The girl, Red rapidly fired away causing the Vehicon to drop it's captive. Arcee quickly sprang into action and caught him while the girl finished off the Vehicon, getting him in the helm with an unusually powered blast that knocked her back. Wildstar sent the other one's helm flying and rolling into the desert dust. No one said anything for a long moment, and then, "Hands: Off!"_

 _She staggered up, steadying herself and quickly rushed over to Arcee. She stared up at the Autobots and Arcee stared right back, both in disbelief. After a long moment of silence, the human man- Mitch spoke up. "Uh... wow... uhm... thanks ma'am for the help."_

 _Arcee snapped to. She put him down gently, next to his worried sister. She couldn't believe it, this, human girl was the source of the energy spike, she was some kind of Pretender or something! But, then why had the other called her 'sister'? If he was a Pretender as well then why not defend himself?_

 _"You're- you two turned into stuff and back, e-exactly like Red!"_

 _"Mitch-!"_

 _"Listen, I- I don't know what ya are or if you can speak or understand me, but you gotta help us." He took Red's wrist and pulled her forward. "A little while ago my sister turned into something, and she can make her arms into weapons and she's fast like, superhuman fast! I saw how y'all turned your arms and bodies into stuff, you're just like her. You- you got answers I don't. Please, you gotta help my sister. I don't know what to do."_

 _Wildstar knelt down, Arcee keeping her optics open for any signs of traffic or humans who could spot them. "... don't worry. We're taking you both somewhere safe and we'll give you the best answers we can. My designation is Wildstar, what you humans would call a 'name'. That's Arcee." She looked over at the blue femme, who looked back at the small human girl. "What's your name kiddo?"_

 _The girl swallowed, and she stepped forward "It's Red. Nice to meet'cha Wildstar, Arcee."_

 **-Flashback End-**

Arcee blinked and looked upwards at the departing pair. "Just, be careful you two."

"We'll be okay, Arcee. I promise." Wildstar said firmly, optics bright. "Call us the moment there's any sort of update, please."

The femme nodded and the pair transformed, Smokescreen leading the way. "Come on. Let's go get Wheeljack."


End file.
